Eating at Bennelong makes you feel like a celebrity or a socialite to some extent. You feel a little special to have a meal in a restaurant that has the same roof as the Sydney Opera House. More importantly once you do get a booking (which isn’t easy) – you tell your friends about dinner plans and you hear this “Whooo” sound coming out of their jealous lips – well maybe not, but you feel a little excited about the evening before it has even started.
Located near the main entrance of the Opera House (towards the left past the cloak room), Bennelong run by head chef Guillaume Brahimi, has an amazing warm welcome as you are seated to your table. The view is spectacular, and during your booking you can make a request of what aspect you want your table to face (if available).
Once again, I’ll re-iterate, booking is essential and it showed throughout the course of the evening as there weren’t tables free.
We had got a table which was part couch and part chairs for six of us. Some had views of the bridge, while the others made do with the view of the city. After being presented with the food and wine menu, we had to get cracking on choosing our wine. The white wine was a bottle of 2005 Hugel Gewurztraminer ($85) and a recommended bottle of Burgundy wine ($165). However, note that are over a 100 bottles of wine to choose from – some ranging as much as $6000 a bottle. As a sommelier to assist and if you can be upfront about your budget, be honest or face the embarrassment of him/her recommending a $600 bottle of wine that you then have you retract yourself from selecting.
We were offered a selection of bread to choose from. I tried the buttermilk roll and then had a rosemary bun – both were warm and fresh and once you spread the French butter, you felt like you could have them as main course.
We were presented with an amuse-bouche of duck foie gras, spread in between crusted gingerbread. This was simply fantastic – the rich texture of foie gras with the crustiness of the ginger bread was very light as your bite through, however then the heavy feeling of the foie gras gets to you. A very nice palate opener for the evening.
To start off, I had quail cooked two ways ($40). While it did look small on the plate – I’m actually glad as it gave me enough room to accommodate the rest of the evening’s delight. The plate contained a piece of smoked quail breast and another of fried quail leg. A quail egg that was covered in breadcrumbs and fried served over a bed of greens (almost a nest looking) was a clever touch to the meal. All flavours matched very well – along with the egg which had the inside york nice and runny. The wine too worked very well with the entree and it was pleasantly light and flavourful.
A nice of piece of cheek for mains ($55 – available on the specials menu), and mine was soft and tender where the meat just fell apart as soon as the knife met it. Again the red wine was nice and light for this meal. There isn’t too much to comment on the dishes themselves. Chef Brahimi has kept things very simple yet the taste and texture of his plated food is simply wonderful.
Finally for dessert, I couldn’t go past the chocolate soufflé. As it arrived, the waitress asked if I would like to follow the chef recommendation of dipping the spoonful of coffee ice cream into the soufflé and top it with a hot chocolate sauce. Bare in mind, this isn’t a small soufflé – so if you’re keen to have this for dessert, be conservative during entree and main.
Dessert was simply brilliant, a sensual play of that soft airy texture with the sweetness of the chocolate and slight bitterness of the coffee ice cream. Along with dessert, you are surprised with a selection of petit fours which include salty caramel, passionfruit jelly, dark chocolate tart and macaroons.
Overall, Bennelong is fairly versatile where you can have that romantic moment in a quite table near the window or have a group of friends on bigger table in the centre of the restaurant. Staff can be a little up themselves but attentive, food was simplistic but beautifully flavoured, wine wasn’t cheap but matched well – you can see where this is going. Bennelong isn’t cheap, don’t expect a $100 per person. Double or triple that for an enjoyable evening. Save up and wear your best suit for an amazing dinning experience.
Atmosphere – 8/10
Food – 8/10
Wine – 8/10
Staff – 7.5/10
Value for money – 8/10
Eating at the Astral restaurant was quite an interesting experience. I don’t mean this in a bad way – however, Sean Connolly has changed the meaning of your 3 course fine dining to Tapas Fine Dining.
First off, we started with drinks at the Astral bar. This is a great place to unwind at the end of a working day with a couple of glasses of wine, bubbles, or select your poison from their cocktail list. Better still, take a seat, and let the friendly staff attend to your requests. I would also recommend a few selection from their nibbles menu. I can highly recommend the twice cooked pork served with a spicy dipping sauce. Also try their warm olives with sliced bread and marinated feta. Already had dinner? Then try their chocolate pavlova with ice cream or selection of European cheese.
From the cocktail section I can recommend the watermelon martini or perhaps the Bueller (rose flavoured vodka with lime, orgeat and some Ruby Red) – but they have a 3 page list to select from. From their wine list, I loved their Otago Sauvignon Blanc by the glass or ask the bartender to pour you something they can recommend.
The Astral Bar is divided in two sections. As you walk in you have a bar along the wall, then the inside seating area with live or chill out music followed by doors that open to more space with outdoor seating. The view is amazing with the harbour bridge on one side and Sydney’s west on the other. I had my birthday here a couple of years ago, and it was fantastic – somehow they had Katie Noonan playing live too.
After a few nibbles and drinks, our reservation time for the restaurant was soon approaching. We were seated to our table where you actually had arm rests on your chair. You knew this wasn’t informal dining – but things changed for the better. Our man of service was Jean Baptis (I believe it’s spelt this way) – a cheerful man with a thick noticeable French accent.
He served us some bread with French butter and requested for the sommelier to our table. This guy looked like he was in his mid twenties, but the man knew what wine to suit your thirst and preference. He had something to say for almost every bottle on the menu. We initially went with an Australian Pinot Noir at $90, but he came back saying that he has a French red wine which he hasn’t seen many people order that usually retails at $155, however he’d give it to us for $90 – bargain! That was perhaps one of the best tasting red wine which perfectly suited our meal.
As Jean started to explain the menu, I was taken aback. I expected to order my first 2 courses and after than order my dessert if I had room. However, Astral Restaurant has turned into formal Tapas. You and your guests order a few dishes from their selection of ‘Cold’, ‘Warm’ and ‘Hot’ dishes. Things started to get complicated as some really want to order something that the others didn’t like – but a consensus was agreed. Mind you, you can still order the one dish for yourself – but the waiter suggests that the dishes are presented for ’sharing’.
From the Cold section we ordered half a dozen Oysters along with a serving of two types of beetroot salad with goats custard, grapefruit and rosemary dressing. We skipped the ‘Warm’ section and went for a dish of shredded lamb with a layer of sliced potatoes, along with strips of angus sirloin and finally Partridge with faggots. Faggots was new to me, and I doubt it’s something that I will take to again.
Overall, the food was incredible. The service was brilliant and they were highly attentive all through out. Above that, we always had a view of the Harbour Bridge, Darling Harbour and the city – a fantastic setting!
Finally, it was time for dessert. And Jean was very knowledgeable with his understanding of the various cheese on offer. You can select up to 6 different cheeses that come with a variety of biscuits. Jean explained each of the cheese, their history and level of maturity. After that, he then plated your selections in order of what you should start with first till the end. I on the other hand, ordered the Apple and Blackberry soufflé with custard ice cream – you didn’t have to share desserts (woohoo!). My soufflé was simply perfect – a soft apple flavoured soufflé with blackberry jam at the bottom gave it that surprisingly soft, airy and jammy texture all in the one spoonful.
Sean Connolly has indeed deserved his chef’s hat (be it only 1). The service was impressive, but yes, you do pay for it. So, be prepared for a 3 digit bill per person (and make that closer to $200).
So will I go back to Astral? The food was nice (I wouldn’t say amazing other than the dessert), the wine was impressive and the service of Jean Baptis was impeccable. For me, it was those three that were the highlight of the evening.
Atmosphere – 8/10
Food – 7.5/10
Wine – 8/10
Staff – 8.5/10
Value for money – 7/10
When I heard that we were heading to Glebe Point Diner – I took the word Diner literally and thought, “Great, I’m going to end up eating RSL Club food! Must come up with escape and backup dinner plans”
But, it turns out that Chef Alex Kearns’ aim is to provide simple and comforting dishes to please your palette. Was I pleased? Well, just about. This wasn’t a place that wowed me! But neither was it a place that reminded me cheap diner service.
The restaurant is well laid out, it’s well presented but it can get a little too cosy. And by cosy I mean, if you try to move your seat a few inches back, you’ll hit a customer behind. A little claustrophobic for my liking. On the flip side, there is alfresco dinning with a few 2 seater couches. With Glebe Point DIner, you need to book in advance, and they are only open for dinner from Wed – Sat. It’s not a few mins wait if just turn up, be prepared with a newspaper and a cup coffee if that’s your intention.
Upon our arrival, we were asked to wait a few minutes before our table was ready. In the meantime, that gave us the opportunity to review the specials on the board. Shortly, we were shown to our tables and they had run out of menus – “Please try and share” is what we were told after 2 copies were given for the four of us. 5 mins later – 2 more copies of the menu arrived, and we were no longer tilting our necks to the corners of the table.
Glebe Point Diner boasts that they like to make everything in-house. Including their bread and butter too. Look, I have no issues with a restaurant churning their own butter – but please, even if you gave me a butter bowl with Western Star, I wouldn’t be complaining. A lot of effort for a small highlight. But the bread was nice and moist, and I can appreciate restaurants baking their own bread.
Alex Kearns’ cooking style is producing simple food – and I can see why. To start, I ordered the Duck and Pork Sausage served with rocket and grapes salad ($18). Good flavours, and simple salad – but I felt like I was at a mate’s BBQ. However, one of the my companions at the table dared herself with the Crispy Pig Ears salad – I don’t think she quite savoured that taste the next morning and vowed never to repeat.
Main course time and I tried the waygu with vegetables and horseradish mash ($34). The meat was good and the vegetables cooked well – simple is what I got from Alex Kearns. But the mash over complicated a few things. The horseradish was a little powerful and became the main element of taste – but the carrots, potatoes and spinach were cooked to perfection. However, it felt like meat and 3 veg.
Throughout the meal we shared 2 bottles of red amongst four of us. A Tempranillo from Spain and a bottle of Cabernet Merlot by Maverick Twins – each were approx $45. Their wine list is quite a impressive. I would assume they had about 40 to 50 to select from for white and about another 40 to 50 for Rose / Red – which is great, don’t get me wrong, but pretty challenging too!
For desert, we had all had the Chocolate pudding with Vanilla Bean Ice cream ($15). Rich, but flavoursome. This, like most 3 course meals, was my favourite part of the night.
The end the damage was $90 per person + tip. Not bad for a 3 course meal and 2 bottles of wine shared by 4.
Look, overall Glebe Point Diner is all about simple and comfort food – and they did what they can to present that. But is it a place I would recommend? Well, no. It takes an effort to book a table, for the price I would recommend L’etoile or for a bit extra, go to Verde. But if you’re looking for a nice restaurant in Glebe – then this or the Boathouse would be on my list of recommendations and hence why they are always busy. It’s one of the best in Glebe.
Atmosphere – 7/10
Food – 7/10
Wine/Cocktails – 7.5/10
Staff – 7/10
Value for money – 7.5/10
Located on 407 Glebe Point Road, Glebe
